


Right Here With You

by phoenixprentiss



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 16:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11040135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixprentiss/pseuds/phoenixprentiss
Summary: Something finally comes out of JJ's trips to visit Emily in London.





	Right Here With You

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like all my fanfics are the same (some sort of angsty thing where JJ and Emily finally get together) but this is what I'd written recently and I haven't uploaded since last year, so I hope you enjoy this.

The plane JJ was preparing to board was her fourth flight to London this year.

This time, she had told Will, but the last few times, she’d lied and said to him and the team that she was either visiting her parents or just needed time to herself. Will never said anything, but she was sure he suspected something.

She sent a quick text to Emily telling her that she was about to board, and then put her phone back in her bag, shutting it off. Even if Emily were to reply she wouldn’t be able to receive it while 35,000 feet high in the air. She relaxed after settling in her seat for the seven hour flight. Like usual, she kept herself occupied with books, magazines, and music.

Every time JJ landed in London, she was met with a sudden rush; she was going to see Emily again. And there she was, waiting in the area for arrivals. JJ was greeted with a warm hug, one that always seemed to last a second too long. No matter how long it had been since the last time, JJ always found herself looking at Emily like it had been years since they saw each other. She wondered if Emily felt the same, too.

“It’s so good to see you again, Em,” JJ smiled.

“Like always, Jayje.”

It was hard to describe just exactly what there was between Emily and JJ. They were easily best friends, but at the same time it was so more. Almost on the brink between best friends and lovers; but neither of them ever acknowledged it. In the end, there had to be something that had JJ constantly coming back to Europe just for Emily.

The pair took a taxi back to Emily’s flat, and JJ was once again shoved into the culture she hardly knew but had grown to love. It reminded her of Emily, and somewhere she felt safe. She was far away from the terrors of her job and everything expected of her; both from the team and her family. Though it was only a five hour time difference, JJ already found herself exhausted. She collapsed on Emily’s couch, Emily taking a seat beside her. JJ pulled her legs up to her chest, ready to be able to spend some peaceful time with Emily after another hectic week. Emily took JJ’s left hand, running her fingers across JJ’s and the band on her ring finger.

“How are you, Jayje? Really.” Emily asked. JJ knew this would be coming. All throughout the taxi ride Emily had kept the conversation on Henry and the team, but she expected something more in-depth once they were alone.

JJ took a moment before responding. “I’m… I’m doing okay.”

Emily squeezed JJ’s hand before letting go, a sad smile taking over her face. JJ was suddenly aware of the now heavy-feeling ring on her finger. It felt out of place, in light of recent weeks. It was something she knew she couldn’t keep from Emily for long. JJ let out a deep breath. She hadn’t realized until now that she was holding so much in, or that she so badly wanted someone to share it with.

“I’ve kind of been distancing myself from Will and he’s noticed. I think whatever was between us has run its course. I was with him because he was stable but now I don’t know anymore. He knows I’m here right now, but the team doesn’t. No one’s known I’ve come here. It’s not that I don’t want them to know, but I don’t want them to want to join me. I know they all love you too but it always feels like there’s something special when it’s just us.”

“Yeah,” Emily replied. “I want to see them too, but I get what you mean. I should probably come back sometime.”

“You should,” JJ answered.

Then she sighed. “I’m worried about Henry. Will and I… we’ve talked about divorce. And we both think it’s best for us but I don’t know how Henry will react to it.”

“I think he’d be able to adjust. It sucks that you already have to spend so much time away from him because of your job but I think he’d be okay. He’s a tough little guy. Takes after his mom.”

“I know.” JJ said softly.

After a pause, Emily asked, “Are you hungry?”

JJ shook her head. “I ate on the plane.”

“You sure? That was hours ago.”

“I’m fine, Em. Thanks.”

Emily shrugged, standing up. JJ found her eyes wandering to the window as Emily made herself something to eat.

“You gonna sleep on the couch like usual?”

“Where else would I sleep?”

Emily shrugged. JJ knew the only other room in this small apartment was Emily’s, and she tried to not think about what Emily had said for too long. “I guess I’ll head to bed too. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, love.”

“’Night,” JJ replied, pulling herself up off the couch. She’d stayed here enough times and was close enough to Emily that she knew the routine. She’d change while Emily used the bathroom, then JJ would take her turn in the bathroom and they’d retreat to their beds. JJ would curl up on the couch underneath her favorite blanket of Emily’s, a dark red one that always smelled of something that was distinctly Emily.

In the short time before JJ fell asleep from exhaustion, she thought about how Emily had called her ‘love.’ It was something so simple, something that made JJ realize that London really was Emily’s home now.

Then she crashed, overwhelmed from the seven hours on the plane, the time difference, and getting to see Emily again.

When JJ woke, it took her a second to remember that she was in Emily’s apartment and halfway across the world. It felt too early, though, so JJ checked the time on her phone. Sure enough, it was only four a.m. She lay back, staring into the solid darkness. Emily was undoubtedly asleep and probably would be until about six or seven, and JJ wasn’t tired. She was calm, something that rarely happened at home when she went to sleep.

So she was alone with her thoughts. She found herself going over everything she’d told Emily earlier, about Will and just how everything was back in DC. She hated when she did this, how she couldn’t even say one thing without nervously thinking about it again later. Then there was part of JJ that wondered why she kept coming back here.

She’d seen everything London had to offer, and there were definitely other places she could travel to during her time off. It meant that the only think constantly pulling her back to London was Emily herself. And JJ didn’t know what to think about that except that she knew she’d keep coming back no matter what.

Though she thought she’d be up for the rest of the morning, she found she’d drifted off again. She woke to the sound of Emily getting up and shuffling around, and for a quick second thought that it was something she wouldn’t mind waking to every day. She soon forgot that thought when sat up.

“You up?” She heard Emily call softly.

“Yeah,” JJ replied.

“I was thinking for breakfast we could go to this little hole-in-the-wall coffee spot I found a month or so ago. It’s a couple of blocks, and it’s nice enough out to walk. You might want a jacket though.”

“Sure,” JJ changed quickly in the bathroom, grabbed a jacket from her suitcase and watched as Emily grabbed her keys.

The two women resumed easy chatter during the walk, breakfast, and the rest of the day. JJ didn’t even notice when after a while, Emily’s hand slipped easily and comfortably into her own. Once she did notice, she was overly conscious of it, but she didn’t want to let go.

Just like old times.

Before Will, before Henry, before the wedding. Before London.

The odd feeling that JJ had been holding on to since the night before didn’t return until after dinner that evening when they settled down to watch a movie. Without really realizing it at first, again, they ended up cuddled up next to each other under the blanket. When JJ became aware of this, she wasn’t really sure what to think. So she decided not to think about it at all.

“Emily,” JJ whispered, taking her eyes off the TV.

Emily turned her head towards JJ, and JJ forgot what she was going to say.

And then something happened and they were kissing. JJ sighed, more from relief than pleasure. This was finally real; no longer a thought that seemed to constantly hover above her, something she could never reach. Emily shifted herself so that she was facing JJ, and the kiss deepened. Emily’s hand made its way to JJ’s cheek, and her touch was gentle. It was everything JJ had craved since she had realized months earlier than she was no longer attracted to Will.

JJ wanted to fall asleep in Emily’s hold right there on the couch, but they didn’t both fit while lying down. The next thing JJ knew, the TV had been turned off and the blanket moved aside. JJ took Emily’s hand in following her to the bedroom. It never evolved, but it wasn’t until right before JJ fell asleep with her arms around Emily’s waist that she realized she was cheating on her husband.

JJ knew from the instant she woke up that she was with Emily. It felt like home. Emily murmured and turned over, so that the two were facing each other. JJ could barely make out Emily’s face in the dim morning light.

“Why now and not four years ago? Before I married him?” JJ asked. So much would be different if only they’d acted on their feelings earlier.

“Because I wasn’t ready. I thought you deserved so much more. But once you married him, I thought it was already too late. That’s why I came here. And when you kept coming back, I knew it was for more than just to visit.” Emily explained. “I always wanted to tell you ever since your first visit, but I couldn’t think of how.”

“What do we do now?”

“We spend the whole day here.”

“In bed?”

“Where else?”

JJ moved in to kiss her again, and when their lips met, she was positive this was where she was meant to be. Maybe just not thousands of miles away from her actual home.

“Come back to the BAU with me,” JJ whispered as they parted.

“I don’t know, Jayje.”

We can’t just leave this here. We can’t keep it going long-distance.”

Emily kissed her again, her fingers traveling up JJ’s waist.

“Okay,” Emily whispered. “We’ll see what we can do. For now, I just want to stay right here with you; we have a week left alone together.”

Emily moved in closer, leaving kisses down JJ’s neck and collar bone, and JJ sighed in approval, but Emily stopped when she felt JJ’s body tense up.

“What is it?” Emily asked, concern crossing her eyes.

“We can’t do this. Not yet. I want to be with you, that’s for certain, but right now, I’m still with Will.”

“Then tell him it’s over,”

“Right now?” JJ asked.

“Call him up and tell him you want a divorce. He’s a smart man, he’s probably expecting it.” Emily glanced at her phone, then continued. “It’s late in DC, but you could call him tonight when it’s the morning there.”

“Okay,” JJ said tentatively. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for so much to change. 

“Everything will be fine.”


End file.
